Currently, carbon nanoparticles including both nanotubes and nanofilaments are found in extended commercial applications in modern technologies, for example, for the manufacture of composite materials, nanoscale machines, flat-panel displays, and computer memory devices. The wide application of carbon nanotubes is based on their unique physical and mechanical properties, which show the high electrical and thermal conductivity, and high strength values along the nanotubes' axis. In the direction perpendicular to the fiber axis, these values are very low.
Carbon nanotubes are oftentimes produced by vapor phase deposition on particles of transition metals such as Fe, NJ, and Co in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,227 by Mancevski wherein the metal catalysts decompose the hydrocarbides and aid in the deposition of the ordered carbon), by electrochemical deposition of the catalyst followed by CVD at high temperatures (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,901 by Moskovits et al), by catalytic plasma enhanced CVD, or by a carbon arc-discharge process.
In recent years, more and more attention is being paid to the electrochemical deposition technique for the manufacture of electronic devices because the electrochemical deposition method is simple, low in capital equipment cost, and can be easily scaled to large scale production.
It would be very important to develop a low temperature, simple process capable of substantial production of nanotubes.